Category: Malaysia

Aicu Kopitiam & Cafe

Earlier today I went to Wangsa Maju to pick up some things for my niece’s wedding next week. For lunch I decided to try out shops in the Wangsa Link area. My friend who owns a business there recommended a lunch at Aicu Kopitiam & Cafe.

Since it was hot we decided to sit inside where it’s cooler. The overall ambiance is nice with old music playing in the background. We ordered a Barli Lemon Ais (Iced Lemon Barley) and an Teh O Ais (Iced Tea) and there was no delay at all before the drinks were delivered. Good. However instead of lemon they used LIME. Yes, lime.

Food is a different story. We ordered a Penang Kuay Teow, Nasi Goreng Kampung (Kampung Fried Rice), Telur Mata (Fried Egg), and Cucur Ikan Bilis (Anchovy Fritters).

After about 15 minutes, the Penang Kuay Teow arrived. 10 minutes later, the Fried Rice arrived. I was too hungry and started digging immediately. The fried egg however arrived 10 minutes later, when I was about to finish so I canceled it. The fritters arrived 15 minutes after that.

So the total wait time:

  • Penang Kuay Teow – 15 minutes
  • Fried rice – 25 minutes
  • Fried egg – 35 minutes
  • Fritters – 50 minutes

The food portion is a bit small for the price, and the food taste is OK. Not great but OK. I can eat that if I have no other choice.

As a very fussy restaurant customer I always expect to get the exact menu I ordered. The first example where lemon is being substituted by lime clearly shows that there is no such thing as quality control. What you order is not what you get (WYOINWGY).

One thing to note is that they use chipped ice instead of the normal tube ice so it is constantly stuck in the straw hehe. And if you’re really hungry, don’t go to this place. It’s nice if you want to have a discussion, though.

Oh yes, as with most Malay food businesses don’t expect good hospitality. The cashier didn’t even return a smile.

Next time I may try the Cheng Ho restaurant (owned by Amy Search) next to this place.

Searching for the restaurant name, I found another disgruntled customer. Well, almost customer.

The Datuk who own this place should take a look at the business better.

MMU For Sale

Yeah, you heard it right. Multimedia University (MMU) is up for sale, and it’s valued between RM800~900 million. The plan is to raise money for the high-speed broadband (HSBB) project which will cost TM RM1~1.5 billion per year.

Here’s an article from Business Times Online.

From the line While management remains optimistic on the disposal of staff loans, the group is struggling to find a buyer for the university,” the duo noted., it’s now confirmed that MMU is for sale!

I was alerted of this news while reading Amanz.

The Most Expensive “Baju Melayu” I Ever Had

Or frankly the title should be “The Most Expensive Baju Melayu I will have” because I have just sent the fabric to the tailor a couple of hours ago at Wisma Yakin near Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman. The thing is I am unsure whether I will get a more expensive ones later in life.

For those who are wondering what it is, go here for Wikipedia page on Baju Melayu.

I am not getting this one especially for the coming Eid ul-Fitr, but for my niece’s wedding ceremony in August. And since it is pricey I will also use it for Eid.

The fabric is RM200 and the tailor charge is RM120. It maybe normal for certain people but since all of my previous Baju Melayus were tailored by my mom and using normal fabrics this is the most expensive one for me.

The reason I didn’t go for ready-made ones is that they might not fit well, and the ones I found are either too cheap (equals bad quality) or too expensive. The turquoise Baju Melayu will be ready during the last week of July, just in time for the wedding on August 8th.

MasterCard/Visa Promotion Fraud Attempt #2

Back in January I wrote about an attempt to squeeze my credit card numbers by a caller using a private number.

On July 4th, I received a call from 016 336 8916 but since I have my phone on private mode they were not able to reach me. However a couple of minutes later they sent me a text message: “Hello mr/mrs Ady Romantika. I’m Ros from Visa/master card voucher department. Because of your loyalty to us, you are entitled for complimentary vouchers. Please come to our office with your spouse to collect your vouchers. Unit 515, Level 5, Block E, Phileo Damansara 1, No. 9, Jalan 16/11, Off Jalan Damansara, 46350 Petaling Jaya Selangor. Please come anytime from Monday to Sunday between 3pm to 8pm. Please also allow us at least 45mins of your time. Thank you and see you soon.”

It was a long text message indeed. I sent them a reply that they are scammers, and they were bold enough to reply me. Their message now have been sent to the Royal Malaysian Police and the media via email. I am unsure whether any action will be taken to investigate it but I shall wait and see.

As I mentioned in my previous post, there is no logical chance that Mastercard and Visa are running a promotion together. I am pretty sure if I show up they will ask me for my credit cards and take the chance to copy the numbers, expiries, and CVV/CV2 numbers. Then they are free to use my credit cards online.

For the less cautious this might be a trap they might easily fall into. Beware!

US Visa Collection

It has almost been a month since I wrote my last post. I’ve been busy, yes. Busy enough that I didn’t have the chance to write.

I have been away to the United States and back. While there I was tired more than normal simply because of the commute to work and the different weather conditions. I’ll post some pictures from Boston in the next posts.

Back to the collection of US Visa in Wisma MCA in KL. The procedure is there is not that cumbersome. One quite important thing if you want to spend the littlest time there is to come early. 2.30pm is considered early for next-working-day pickup of the Visa and your passport (if you are picking up a Visa applied weeks ago you can come in the morning). The US Visa office have a lunch break time (compared to UK Visa office which is closed at 3pm with no lunch time).

Anyway, when you arrive at Wisma MCA you have to register at the lobby – mention that you want to go to VFS. The “receptionist” will swipe your card at the computer and produce a slip. Once you reach the floor, you’ll report to the security guard and form a queue at the corridor in front of the office. I was the 5th in line. Write your name and contact number at the back of the yellow card you obtained at the embassy.

Your turn in the queue is important as this is the order they will call you once you are in the office. I was out after 5 minutes the office started processing. They were quick.

Try not to bring a big bag or important things as you’ll have to leave everything outside. Just like when you were in the embassy you’ll have to switch off your handphone here too.

The bottom line is to be early. At least half an hour before the office opens. I guess this applies the same if you come in the morning. It’s important if you want to spend 30-40 minutes max there. Believe me, the line was very long.

International Driving Permit & JPJ Portal Joomla

I was looking for information on getting an International Driving Permit when I arrived at the new JPJ Portal. I am not sure if the portal was “developed” by a third party contractor or internally but I have a hunch that says it was built externally.

There may be other Government portals that are built on top of Open Source solutions but JPJ is obviously using Joomla. What’s worst is that the keywords used in the portal are insanely irrelevant. Obviously MP3 is not at all related to Road Transport Department!

I am not saying that it is wrong to use Open Source projects to cater for Government sites but I think if this project is external, JPJ is getting ripped off.

Changing topic to the International Driving Permit, it’s easy to get one. All you need is a passport sized photo, copy of your NRIC, copy of your driving license, and RM150. Your driving license must be valid for at least 1 year after the date of IDP application. This is also a rip off since in return I get a hand-written card with some thin paper pages in it with a few languages. I would feel ashamed to show it to the cops if I were stopped by them in a foreign country. Seriously.

A friend of mine mentioned that you don’t need an IDP if you are staying less than 3 months in the United States. I tried to find information on that but to no avail. Anyone?

WiMAX Delayed In Malaysia

It has been a while since I last heard anything about WiMAX plans for Malaysia. Well, from the news in The Star I gather that this problem is not specific to Malaysia.

The WiMAX Forum who provide standards and certification is now focusing on the US roll out. While some expert argues that the number of equipment needed for Malaysia is not as many as in the US, we still have to wait for them if we want best interoperability between providers.

My take is that I am willing to wait for it to become close to perfect. I want something reliable, and cost does not matter much. I’ll pay as much as RM500 per month for a stable and reliable service with good coverage. Currently, 3G or “wireless broadband” services provided by local telcos are not reliable. Not that it’s anyone’s fault – it’s the technology itself.

How much would you pay for a good WiMAX service?

As usual, click on Continue reading for the original news just in case the original source has been removed.

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Rain Inside Alamanda Putrajaya

This is the first time in my entire 29-years of life that I actually encounter real rain inside a shopping mall. After being disappointed that Sri Ayutthaya is no longer operational, we went to Rasa food court to have lunch. It was actually my wife’s birthday.

While we were browsing magazines at the newsstand, rain started to pour at a spot near us. It got even worst and started to spread to all the roof joints. I managed to capture a video minutes after the unfortunate event started. Even though you can’t see the water pouring from the roof, you can hear the sound, some water on the floor, and people running.

It was lucky for Alamanda management that the center roof didn’t leak or even worst collapse as there was an event by the Ministry of Federal Territory. Otherwise the Chief Secretary would have been soaking wet 😉

Going to other areas of the mall we found that the worst victim was Clarks shoe store, followed by Quicksilver, Guess, and Yamaha Music Store.

Clarks (the ceiling ripped off and a torrent of water fell through):
Alamanda Leak: Clarks

Quicksilver (a small leak but the amount of water was indeed significant):
Alamanda Leak: QuickSilver

Yamaha Music Store (lucky for them no water leaked inside the store itself):
Alamanda Leak: Yamaha

I also managed to capture another video where water was leaking along the window of the Guess shop.

It’s an unfortunate event, but I guess after this Alamanda management needs to be executing more routine checks on the building to prevent it to happen again. Indeed, it was a very heavy rain but it should have not happened.

I wonder whether this will change the intention of potential tenants to do business at Alamanda. I noticed that Burger King and Cold Storage are opening soon…

Google In Malaysia II

More than a year after I wrote this post: Google In Malaysia, and more than a year after Hanson Toh was appointed as Malaysia Google Consultant, we may actually have a real good news.

I just saw in TV3’s Buletin Utama that Malaysia Prime Minister met Google’s CEO in Switzerland (World Economic Forum) and they do have intention to have a physical presence in Malaysia.

For everyone who have ever dreamed of working for Google (to become a Googler), there might just be a chance soon. A chance is good enough – I doubt that it is going to be very easy to get into Google 🙂

Local Ponzi Schemes Sprouting Everywhere

I don’t know about you but since several past weeks I have been receiving emails that claims to make you rich. Almost everyday, yeah. The unique thing about these emails are that they are in Malay, and originating from Malaysia and Singapore.

So far I can easily classify these emails into a few categories:

  • Mobile Wallet – pay as low as RM100 to them, activate your account via SMS and you can sell mobile products such as prepaid reloads. How can you be sure that they will not just take your RM100 and flee?
  • Easy Funds – pay some money, refer friends, and be paid. Ponzi!!!
  • Money pools – participate in a money pool. Pay about RM52 and be in the run for the jackpot of RM60,000+
  • Email Referrals – refer people via email and get paid.
  • Classic Ponzi or Matrix System – nothing special about this one. Everyone knows how a pyramid or matrix system will end.

Almost all of these emails claimed that you can be a millionaire in a couple of months if you join them. Are you kidding me?

One word of advice, it is better if you keep your money for something useful or invest it in a Government certified fund.

I know the Malaysian Securities Commission has been actively blocking many foreign sites for offering fraudulent investment programs, but I wonder how are they going to handle these which are originating from the country itself. Despite of warnings issued by the Government the number of people who fell into these traps are still surprisingly high. And when they realize what actually has happened they will blame the Government. Duh!…

Turn Off Your Scooter Engine

A few days ago I received a video via email where a little girl was left on a scooter by the father. She accidentally turned the throttle and the scooter shot forward. I found the same video in YouTube:

I really feel sorry for the little girl. It must’ve hurt like hell and she must be traumatized. So if you ever take your children on a scooter remember not to left them alone, and it is better if you turn off the engine and remove the key. She was lucky the scooter did not end up on top of her. The video is not funny at all.

On a side note, please always use helmets! As you can see in the video they don’t have any helmets with/on them.

I promised myself that I will never bring my kid on a motorcycle, with or without helmets.

Potret Mistik

Tonight while doing some coding work, I turned on the TV and the satellite decoder was tuned to Astro Kirana. Since it is an old movie that I have never watched before, I decided to go along just to see what it is all about. As a matter of fact, I started writing this post at the last moment of the movie.

The movie is titled “Potret Mistik”, a production by Metrowealth Movies production and directed by A. Razak Mohaideen.

It is one of the dumbest movie that I have ever watched, and I am thankful I didn’t go watch it at the cinemas when it was released in 2005. The movie is filled with dumb and repetitive dialogs, and the chasing scenes are really dull and not exciting. What I am looking for is the thrill and suspense on what will appear in the next screen, not an old schizophrenic maid who chases people with a butcher knife. I mean, come on… the artist who were chased is a strong guy and he can at any time run faster than the old lady. It’s a different thing if you can really feel his fear, though. Most of the time in the movie, I was laughing and didn’t really see the point. I didn’t know what the director wanted me to feel – sorry? scared? amused?

I am one of the supporters of the Malaysian movie industry but these type of movie really make me think twice before booking another ticket for a Malaysian movie. Of course, I like all of the movies made by Yasmin Ahmad. I am starting to feel that my better half is right for not wanting to go along with me when I wanted to watch a Malaysian movie.

Among other movies that I still haven’t watch:

  • Waris Jari Hantu
  • Jangan Pandang Belakang

What about you? What do you think of Malaysian movies in general?

Asian Cup: Malaysia 1 China 5

Yes, it’s soccer or as we in Malaysia locally call it, football. The national team lost 5-1 to China on Tuesday night match, and it is not a good news. However I am not a football fan and this blog is not a sports blog. I just need to vent out my frustration and disappointment to Malaysians. Yes you read it right, not to the players but to Malaysians.

Even the TV3 sports caster made fun of the Malaysia team. What the hell was that? Sure, they lost. How do you think they feel about it?

Newspaper headlines such as Tak Makan Nasi Ke? (You didn’t have rice?) are indeed funny at a glance but it is a humiliation to the team. For all that matters, I think FAM and the national team should sue those media morons.

Can’t we be more supportive instead of bringing them down? Who knows if we are being supportive enough they will win the next matches… but now they will all be feeling down and guess what, we’ll lose the Asian Cup that we are hosting ourself!

Just my two cents, ignore me.

Kelab Komuniti Taman Tasik Cyberjaya

On Sunday afternoon we got bored at home and decided to go out, just anywhere. We finally decided in the car to go to Taman Tasik Cyberjaya, also to check out the latest addition, the Community Club. For non Malay speakers, Taman Tasik Cyberjaya translates to Cyberjaya Lake Park. Some people prefer to say it as garden but it’s more like a park to me.

The whole area was quite big, and I actually broke some sweat walking all the way from the park entrance to the community club. Yes, there are actually 2 different entrances (maybe 3) – one to the park and the other one to the community club. Since I was looking for the community club but parked at the park entrance I had to walk quite a long way.

Coming from Persiaran Multimedia (MMU road) we’ll first encounter the park entrance, as the community club entrance was actually further. But after we left the park and went to look for the community club entrance, we discover something new (at least for us) – that MMU has a second grand entrance at the back complete with the big sign and a guard post. Cool.

Click on continue reading for more…

Continue reading Kelab Komuniti Taman Tasik Cyberjaya

Hosting: Responsibility of Customer or Provider?

This post is specially dedicated to Exabyte’s latest customer newsletter, which provide very useful information on how customers could prevent servers from overloading and causing service downtime.

I do agree with what Exabytes have to say, and it is true that I noticed that when the services were down, it was indeed caused by processes using too many CPU and memory resources. However it must also be noted that not all users are efficient programmers, and sometimes the codes simply made to achieve a certain goal without considering the impact to the server resources. This is the user’s fault.

I guess you know that there is a big BUT coming: when I experience service downtime I can see that many many cron (task scheduler) jobs are running out of control on the server. Some of them were even a few weeks old. The processes are obviously user cron jobs. In this case there is a lack of policing activity from Exabytes. When a service is down, the engineers simply restart the service and not do any investigation on what caused the overload.

After receiving an email confirming that the service is already up, I usually go in and check the zombie processes and they are still there, hogging MySQL and CPU resources.

We need to keep in mind that not all users are technical and have shell access like me, and they might not even know that their application / cron job is causing any resource problems. So IMHO it’s the provider’s responsibility to alert users if such case happens.

Now I only serve images on the server, and the server in US actually checks if the user is from Asia and if the Exabytes server is up. If it’s up then the images will be served from there. If not then users will have to wait for images to load a little longer.

Click on continue reading to read the rest of this post.

Continue reading Hosting: Responsibility of Customer or Provider?